Raymond VII of Saint-Gilles was Count of Toulouse, Duke of Narbonne and Marquis of Provence from 1222 until his death.
Background
Raymond was born at the Château de Beaucaire in Beaucaire, Province of Languedoc, the son of Raymond VI of Toulouse and Joan of England. Through his mother, he was a grandson of Henry II of England and a nephew of kings Richard I and John of England. Raymond VII married firstly, in March 1211, Sancha of Aragon, the daughter of King Alfonso II of Aragon.
Career
He fought to reconquer the county of Toulouse from Simon de Montfort, 5th Earl of Leicester and later Simon"s son Amaury VI of Montfort. He succeeded his father in 1222. At the moment of his accession, he and the new count of Foix, Roger Bernard II the Great, besieged Carcassonne.
However, in 1225, the council of Bourges excommunicated him and launched a crusade against him, the king of France, Louis VIII, called the Lion, wanting to renew the conflict in order to enforce his royal rights in Languedoc.
Roger-Bernard tried to keep the peace, but the king rejected his embassy and the counts of Foix and Toulouse took up arms again. When Raymond died, Alphonse became count of Toulouse, and after Alphonse"s death the county was annexed by France.
Raymond VII was buried beside his mother Joan in Fontevrault Abbey.